~ Frugal. Fashion forward. Fierce.

ColourPop Review

I love high fashion colors. Black eye shadow shouldn’t be limited to the runway. There’s only so much red, berry, and pink one can take.

I’m not sure how I discovered ColourPop. I think I read about it somewhere or saw it on Instagram. I recently started using NYX, and Rimmel London before that, and thought it was time to give ColourPop a try.

It all started when I saw Christina Ricci on The Graham Norton Show. I was enamored by the silvery ice blue eye shadow she was wearing. I’ve noticed that trend quite a bit lately.

For a trend, ice blue shadow is hard to find. Not sure how my fellow YouTubers got the hookup, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.

Enter ColourPop.

I’d been dying to try it. The price point is comparable to NYX or Rimmel London. Of course, ColourPop carries an ice blue shadow. I might as well order a haul. There’s no sense paying shipping for one item.

I purchased two three eye shadows, a blush, an eye liner, and a lipstick. I think my total was $35 and some change. I don’t know. I really shouldn’t throw away the invoice. The point is it’s really cheap — in the e.l.f. Cosmetics price range. It’s as if they entice you to buy multiple products. Who wants to pay more in shipping than they do for the actual purchase?

A few days later, my box arrived, complete with a note and a booklet explaining the products and application tips. Yes, application tips. This is an important point I will come back to in a moment.

I bought two Super Shock shadows — Puppy Love, a pale pearlized pink (I believe the proceeds go to an animal rescue organization) and Sugar, a metallic ice blue with silver glitter. I bought a cream gel shadow in Prance, a light blue. The Super Shock Cheek blush is Thumper, a blue-hued bright pink and matches the Lippie Stix in Scandy. I added a rose gold gel eye liner called Get Paid into the cart for good measure.

Some products are more pigmented than others. To prove my point, I layered some of the product on my arm and adjusted the lighting for the swatch photo below, but some colors are very pale:

For starters, if you name your products Super Shock, it should be unbelievably pigmented. I’m fine with the blush. It’s a deep color. It layers fairly well. But the shadows are a disappointment.

Let’s talk about application, shall we? I apply everything with fingers. The shadows and blush are this super soft texture, which is very nice to the touch. It is also impossible to pick up product with a brush. Puppy Love isn’t bad. It’s a nice neutral highlight. I have to layer it a bit, but the color payoff is what it is. The ice blue? It sucks. There is no layering. It is an unfortunate storm of mess and glitter that doesn’t layer, even with a gel shadow base, and doesn’t stay put.

Sadness.

The lipstick and the creme shadow, on the other hand, are amazing. A little goes a long way. Both are highly pigmented. Both stay on for hours. I did use an invisible lip liner with the lipstick, but it stays in place on it’s own. It does have a bit of a drying effect that can feel cakey after a few hours.

Overall, ColourPop is hit and miss. While I would order the eye liner, blush, lipstick, and creme gel shadow again, I’ll probably refrain from purchasing any more powder-based shadows. Even with a primer and setting spray, it doesn’t last.

As with many young companies, formulations change, usually for the better. Right now, I’m not too terribly impressed. Until ColourPop improves the product line or makes the line available to retailers, I think I’ll stick to NYX for my trendy runway-ready colors.

Happy shopping!

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This post is not sponsored. The opinions are my own. I’m just a girl trying out makeup and telling others girls her opinion. Your results may vary. Please research the products before purchasing. Don’t rely solely on my impression.